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Rainbow Road to Oz
'Rainbow Road to Oz '''is an unfinished film project that was being worked on by Walt Disney Pictures. A preview aired on September 11, 1957 on ''Walt Disney's Disneyland and it featured Walt Disney himself looking over and approving the project after being pursuaded by members of the Mickey Mouse Club. Background Since Walt Disney was unable to create an animated movie based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as MGM beat him to it with the 1939 film, he was determined to make an Oz movie in buying the copyrights to the other 13 books by L. Frank Baum in 1954. The show Walt Disney's Disneyland ''usually showed movies and other segments related to new film production. The pacticular clip is from ''The Fourth Anniversary Show ''which was the first episode of season four as the "Mouseketeers" were going to be the main cast members. Depsite newspaper coverage stating that the film was going to be made, it was eventually canceled and is said to have been replaced with 1961's ''Babes in Toyland, which ironically featured Ray Bolger and starred Annette Funicello in the same wig she had worn in the test reel. Known plot Dorothy Gale, along with her cousin Zeb, returns to Oz only to discover that the Cowardly Lion is under an evil spell and has become a cruel tyrant, usurping the throne of Oz from Princess Ozma. Dorothy, Ozma, the Scarecrow, the Patchwork Girl, and some others put on a dance number designed to break the spell over the Lion, which has been cast on him by the vengeful son of the late Wicked Witch of the West. Cast *Darlene Gillespie as Dorothy Gale *Annette Funicello as Princess Ozma *Bobby Burgess as the Scarecrow *Tommy Kirk (putatively) as the son of the Wicked Witch of the West *Doreen Tracey as Scraps, the Patchwork Girl *Jimmie Dodd as the Cowardly Lion *Cubby O'Brien as Button-Bright *Karen Pendleton as Polychrome *Lonnie Burr as Zeb Hugson Songs Various songs were recorded for the eventual film that was never made, the other songs were released on different LP Oz based records but it is unknown which ones are exactly from this project. Featured in preview: *Patches *Oz Kan-Hop *Rainbow Road to Oz Trivia *Had it been made, it would have featured the first film appearace of Princess Ozma and the Patchwork Girl since the 1914 silent film The Patchwork Girl of Oz. Likewise, it would have been the first time since His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz in that same year, that Button-Bright had appeared on film. It would have been the first-ever film portrayals of Polychrome and Zeb Hugson. *This would have been the first Oz-based movie to feature the Cowardly Lion as the ruler of Oz, having ousted Ozma. *This also would have been the first to feature a son of the Wicked Witch, a notion which had been toyed with when the script for the 1939 MGM Wizard of Oz was being thrashed out. The character now known as Miss Gulch was originally Mrs. Gulch, a widow who had a spoiled son named Walter. In Dorothy's dream, he became the Wicked Witch's pampered boy, whom she intended to put on the throne of Oz (with her running things behind the scenes, of course). Media Ozma-concept.png|Ozma Concept Art Scarecrowconcept.jpg|Scarecrow Concept Art Castpose.jpg|Cast Picture Patchconcept.jpg|Patchwork Girl Concept Art Scriptbook.jpg|Project Book Colorstill.jpg|Colorized Still Image